Despooler



ay 9, 1939. P. E. CHAPMAN 2,157,847

DE$POOLER Filed Feb. 17, 1937 Patented May 9, 1939 2,157,847

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 'DESPOOLER Penrose E. Chapman, St. Louis, Mo.

Application February 17, 1937, Serial No. 126,155

Claims. (01. 242128) The object of my invention is a device for takordinary hearing at M would cramp and bind. ing wire off of spools that shall permit of a high To overcome this difliculty and keep the weight rate of acceleration, running, and deceleration, of the bearing light I prefer to use a ball bearing combined with uniform tension. with a conventional inner race l5 but whose outer 5 When these speeds are high the variables inrace 16 is a straight cylindrical one formed as 5 ertia, windage, and deceleration become the liman integral part of the cross member l2 thus iting factors. forming a self-aligning bearing.

This invention applies to the over the head The position of said cross member I2 is very type of despoolers in which it is customary to important in attaining high speed. I therefore apply a nominally fixed braking action which place it next the spool 3. 10

still further adds to the efiect of inertia and In order to automatically vary the braking windage and is none too strong to overcome action I adjust the tension on the spring [0 momentum. The action of fixed brakes also against the braking elements by attaching a varies. crosshead 20 to said spring at some point be- In this invention I cause the pull on the detween its ends, this point being hereinafter re- 15 livered wire to vary the braking action oppositely ferred to as a central one. to that of the said variables and thereby to a An excellent means of attaching said crosshead large extent compensate therefor, making it posto said spring i0 is shown in the section Fig. 2 sible to start, run and stop faster and at the that discloses a thread 2| cut on the interior 20 same time hold a reasonably uniform tension as thereof. This thread is made to fit over the 20 is more fully set forth hereinafter. spring I0 and also to extend through the said The term, wire, for brevity is taken to include spring so that the land of the thread may play all forms of elongated material, such as thread, against the spindle 5 for preserving alignment. string, ribbon, wire, and the like and the term, The spring l0 may be in two pieces with crossspool, is used to include any form of package in head between but I prefer the one piece construc- 25 which the said wire may be wound, as on spools, tion above and in this connection I use the Word reels, kopts, self-supporting coils, unsupported spring to cover either construction. coils, and the like. On the outside of the crosshead 20 I provide a In the drawing pair of thrust bearings as on the faces of the Fig. 1 is a general elevation of my improved flange 20 and the nut 22". 30

despooler. Between the said thrust bearing surfaces I pre- Fig. 2 is a cross section of the regulating crossfer to mount a gimbal yoke or ring 22. Trunhead. nions 22 of this gimbal ring are in turn mounted In the drawing 3 is a spool from which the in the bearings 23' on the r at g lever 23 wire w is to be taken that may be held in posiwhich floats with the crosshead 20. The fulcrum 35 tion by any suitable means, such as the bevel end of this lever is loosely secured to the flyer I2 headed threaded spindle 4. A spindle 5 which by passing it ough the ey et Z4 thereon. may be an extension of spindle 4 is provided. The other end of this regulating lever carries Any convenient braking systemmay be used but y Convenient Wire directing device s a appe I prefer to use disc brakes. It is convenient to or a pulley 25. In order that the despooling wire 40 make such a brake by attaching stationary brake ay act e the regulating ever t is convenient disc 6 to the spindle 5, providing rotating brake to use block and tackle elements Dp y disc 8, interposing brake lining I therebetween. be used for directing t Wire w but I Prefer t Pressure may be applied to said rotating disc 8, use pull y 91S p y fastened to the p by the spring H], which acts through thrust bearof the fiyer being the fixed One and the p y 25 45 ing 9, said bearing permitting said disc to rotate at c t the regulating leVel 23 be t e while the spring stands still. movable one. Wire w is used for the tackle.

The tension on the said spring I0 is adjusted In operation the W w is passed from the by nuts II. spool 3 over pulley 26 carried by one end of the The wire is taken off of the spool 3 by a confiyer I2, thence over the directioning pulley 21 ventional A pattern flyer l2 which drives disc 8 carried by the upper bearing end of said flyer 12, through a loose coupling as cross bar 8'. Beardown over pulley 25 on said regulating lever and ings l3 and M support said fiyer l2. As the thence off. It is obvious that when a pull is flyer 12 must be of very light construction, operapplied to wire w it will act through pulley 25,

ating strains will spring it out of line so that an lever 23, gimbal ring 22 and crosshead 20 to 55 pull up the spring Ill removing some or all of the tension of said spring against the brake disc 8 thereby adjusting said brake to deliver a de sired tension. When inertia, windage or other action causing increased drag is present said drag causes a still further release of said tension to compensate therefor. At stopping, momentum is compensated for by reverse action.

Other variables as the diameter of the spool, variations in the demand for wire, etc., are similarly compensated for.

There are many variations that can be made of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore do not limit myself to the exact form shown. I wish to claim:

1. In a despooling device the combination of a fiyer, braking elements therefor, a spring actuating said braking elements with means for centrally attaching said spring to the Wire being despooled by said device, the pull of said wire actuating said spring.

2. In a despooling device the combination of a flyer, braking elements therefor, a spring, actuating said braking elements, a crosshead and regulating lever, coupled to said spring, with block and tackle elements coupling said regulating lever to said flyer.

3. In a despooling device the combination of means for holding a spool in position, a flyer for taking the wire ofi of said spool, a supporting spindle supporting said flyer, a brake, for applying a drag to said flyer, a spring, concentrically mounted over said spindle for applying a pressure to said brake, a crosshead movably mounted on said spindle and coupled to said spring, a gimbal thrust collar revolvably carried by said crosshead, a regulating lever attached by trunnion bearings to said gimbal collar, the fulcrum end of said lever being coupled to said flyer, a wire directing device carried by the Working end of said lever over which wire from said spool may pass.

l. In a despooling device the combination of a tensioning spring, a regulating crosshead and a guiding spindle, means for coupling said regulating crosshead to said tensioning spring and guiding said crosshead consisting of deeply threading the inside of said crosshead to fit over said regulatin spring and of making said threads extend through said spring to engage said guiding spindle.

5. In an over the head despooler the combination of an A pattern flyer having a cross member, a cylindrical bearing formed integral with said cross member, a set of balls, and a ball race therefor, said cylindrical bearing riding on said balls and race to produce a self-aligning bearing for the said fiyer.

PENROSE E. CHAPMAN. 

